20th Apr 2020 11:05
(Alliance News) - Secure Income REIT PLC on Monday said quarterly rent owed by Travelodge Hotels Ltd equals 6.4% of its annual rental income, adding that it has begun action to recover the amount owed.
The statement from the real estate investment trust came after the Financial Times said Sunday that the budget hotel chain had appointed advisers to oversee negotiations with its landlords in efforts to conserve cash amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
As with other hospitality businesses forced by the UK government to close, Travelodge did not pay its quarterly rent bill at the end of March.
On Monday, Secure Income REIT said it has been in discussions with Travelodge for weeks in an attempt to recover the rent owed but has not yet received a proposal to settle the amount due.
"While we are extremely aware of and sensitive to the challenges facing so many businesses today in this unprecedented pandemic, Travelodge has over 580 hotels with more than 44,500 rooms and recently reported record earnings of GBP129.1 million with net debt of around GBP311 million. It is owned by large, multinational investment businesses in Goldman Sachs, Avenue Capital and GoldenTree. We are disappointed and surprised that they have not yet presented a proposal," Secure Income said.
Shares in Secure Income REIT were trading 5.8% lower at 320.44 pence each on Monday morning in London.
By Ife Taiwo; [email protected]
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